Taiwan Exports 38.2% Lesser Machinery in First Five Months

Taipei, August 3, 2009 (CENS)--Taiwan exported US$4.326 billion of machinery in the first five months, down 38.2% year-on-year, according to the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI).

The biggest category in exported machinery was machine tools at US$710 million, down 54.8% from a year earlier. The second place was plastics and rubber processing machinery at US$269.19 million, down 38.8%. The third place was valves and parts at US$265.33 million, down 31.6%. The table below shows lesser export categories.

The TAMI said China and the U.S. were still the largest-two export outlets for the domestic machinery industry in the first five months of this year: China led by buying US$1.028 billion of Taiwan-made machinery, down 48.6% year-on-year and accounting for 23.8% of the total exports. The U.S. was second at US$814.24 million, down 21% and commanding 18.8%.

Other major export destinations, in descending orders, included Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Canada, Singapore etc.

Taiwan also imported US$4.773 billion of machinery in the first five months of this year, down 43% year-on-year.

The biggest category in machinery imports was special-purpose machinery at US$567.2 million, down 77.4% year-on-year and accounting for 11.9% of the total import value. The second place was engines and parts at US$269.43 million, down 23.8% and commanding 5.6%. The third place was pumps, compressors and fans at US$253.54 million, down 42.7% and accounting for 5.3%.

Japan was the largest supplier by selling US$2.333 billion of machinery to Taiwan in the first five months, down 35.2% year-on-year and accounting for 48.9% of the total. The U.S. was second at US$651.43 million, down 65.5% and commanding 13.6%. The third place went to China at US$511.9 million, down 34.7% and accounting for 10.7%. Other major suppliers included, in descending order, Germany, South Korea, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom and France.

Exports of Taiwan-made Machinery (Jan.-May 2009) Unit: US$1,000
Rank	Product Category	Jan.-May 2008	Jan.-May 2009	Annual Change (%)
1	Machine Tools	1,570,128	710,003	-54.8
2	Plastics & Rubber Machinery	440,169	269,196	-38.8
3	Valves & Parts	387,812	265,332	-31.6
4	Pumps, compressors, Fans	386,847	252,006	-34.9
5	Special-purpose Machinery	555,943	238,739	-57.1
6	Bearings, Gears, Ball Screws	294,707	183,964	-37.6
7	Molds & Dies	212,338	175,107	-17.5
8	Machine-tool Parts & Components	291,211	135,424	-53.5
9	Textile Machinery	227,419	34,758	-40.7
10	Woodworking Machinery	270,486	124,079	-54.1
11	Sewing Machines	156,081	93,570	-40.1
12	Paper Making, Printing Machinery	110,612	65,668	-40.6
13	Leather & Shoes Making Machines	37,922	16,031	-57.7
	Others	2,063,443	1,662,378	-19.4
	Total	7,005,118	4,326,255	-38.2
Source: Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry

Imports of Machinery into Taiwan (Jan.-May 2009) Unit: US$1,000
Rank	Product Category	Jan.-May 2008	Jan.-May 2009	Annual Change (%)
1	Special-purpose Machinery	2,511,672	567,205	-77.4
2	Engines & Parts	353,589	269,432	-23.8
3	Pumps, Compressors, Fans	442,704	253,546	-42.7
4	Valves & Parts	257,703	146,466	-43.2
5	Machine Tools	850,149	130,558	-84.6
6	Plastics & Rubber Machinery	117,692	63,535	-46
7	Textile Machinery	143,572	61,759	-57
	Others	3,693,810	3,280,959	-11.2
	Total	8,370,891	4,773,460	-43
Source: Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry